As with any thread that starts with “Why do black people…” I expect some casual flames and snarky comments. So be it, but I feel that in 2+ years working as a server I gathered enough observational data to make this claim with a reasonable degree of confidence. And before you say “I’m black and I order mine medium-rare”, or “my best friend’s cousin’s neighbor’s lawyer’s daughter is black, and she slaughters her own cows and eats their flesh raw”: I don’t give a shit. In the aforementioned time period, whenever a black person ordered a steak and I asked them how they would like it prepared, the answer was inevitably “well-done” with the occasional “medium-well”, but not once did one order it medium or below. So as I’m sure there are exceptions, the fact remains that a preference for a well-done steak is a very strong trend among this community.
I’m guessing there is a cultural or social reason for it, but I’m ignorant as to what it might be.
(Assuming for the sake of argument the validity of the OP’s observation): Old cultural ties to a southern-cuisine tendency to cook the hell out of everything?
My guess as well. Lots of soul food/southern food/etc, and a lot of Caribbean food was cooked with open flame, and getting a nice char is an important part of the flavor profile on many of the dishes. Plus, beef was less common compared to game animals (and seafood), which tend to get cooked more thoroughly.
Add in the prevalence of long slow cooked dishes with rice and other grains, and it doesn’t seem far off that cooking steaks to well would be unusual.
I for one, cannot stand the sight of blood on my plate. I am always sending steaks back (or not ordering the steak at all in ‘fancy’ places). I think I am white.
Black, White, Asian, the poorer working class segments of society have always had the cheaper cuts of meat and less of it. Meatloaf is a will done meat dish used by the poorer classes to stretch hamburger into a roast with bread crumbs and eggs. Poorer cuts of meat have been ultra-tenderized and fried to make country fried steak. Soups and stews, slow cooked BBQ. From my own experience rare meat is the exception to the rule. I’m a white guy, I love a rare steak, but my family growing up was the first generation you could call middle class or upper middle class. My Dad never ate steak growing up and never a good quality rare one.
If your guess has any basis in truth I would assume it would have to be more about relative wealth than race, and as its human nature to strive to and glorify the habits of the wealthy. I believe it would only a matter of time and rare steak would be equally popular.
3 restaurants - some more casual (i.e. cheaper) than others and one was pretty upscale. All in L.A., but we get a lot of travelers and people who’ve moved here from all over. It’s not a perfect cross-section, but still a pretty eclectic mix. And I served hundreds if not thousands of black people. That’s more than enough for a statistically valid sample size. So actually, I do have plenty of data. Unless you can prove otherwise with data that you’ve collected that goes contrary to my claim.
“White” folks who are poor, and “black” folks who are rich tend to reflect their economic status, not their racial one, in their choices. Same goes visa-versa.
ETA: my grandpa won’t eat steak that’s not cooked to leather. He’s white. Really, really, really white.
That’s just anecdotal evidence, and not statistically valid. At least the “more flavorful” part. I suspect that there are indeed more bodily fluids gurgling out of underdone meat.
Interesting theory. If you’re going to order a steak though, why does the length of cooking time imply economic status? Are you just saying that being accustomed to other dishes that tend to be well-done makes one more likely to order it well-done? I could see that I suppose.
